Testing Wiring Functions For Replacement Dome Light

Question:

I just got my dome lights from you. Need help The light in the van had a blub bracket. The kind you just snap the blub in. It had a wire going to each side. I would call it an inline blub. It melted the plastic and every thing fell a part. The light I received from you has a bulb socket. You push the bulb in and turn. My question is how do I wire this one wire up to the two wire. Your light does have a ground wire on the back

asked by: Buddy C

Expert Reply:

For your dome light, the in-line bulb if it didn't have a separate ground, would need to have one wire be positive and one wire ground. Before connecting the light, hold the positive wire to the windshield side wire and the negative wire to the rear facing connection. If the light functions properly, then this is the way to wire it. If there was a separate ground on your old light, then run a wire from each side to the positive wire of the new dome and hold the ground to a separate bare metal surface. These are really the two options and you'll need to do a test to see which one will work. You can always use a circuit tester like # PTW2993 instead of a jump wire to test functions.

It is possible to blow a fuse when testing these functions, so use your owners manual to determine which fuse would be wise to have an extra on hand.

expert reply by: Jason S